Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Kasturba Mohandas Gandhi married Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi when she was only 13 years old and Gandhi was 14 years old. She fought
along with Gandhi for civil rights and Indian independence against the British.
She was born on April 11, 1869 and died on February 22, 1944.

Kasturba
Gandhi was born as Kastur Kapadia in the year 1869. Not much is known of her
early life

In
May 1883, at the age of 13, in an arranged marriage, she married Mahatma Gandhi
who was 14 years old at that time

As
been said by Gandhi "...for us marriage meant only wearing new clothes,
eating sweets and playing with relatives."

Kasturba
was an absolute illiterate. Gandhi taught her the alphabets and how to read and
write

She
could not learn much because she had too many domestic responsibilities. It was
also revealed that she did not have much enthusiasm for education and so, was
least interested in learning

When
Mahatma Gandhi left for London to study law, she remained in India for
upbringing their newly born son Harilal

She
had three more sons with Mahatma Gandhi: Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas Gandhi, and
Devdas Gandhi

In
the year 1906, Gandhi started practicing Brahmacharya and took the oath of
celibacy and chastity. Kasturba supported her husband's decisions even though
she did not support some of his ideas

She
worked closely with Gandhi and became a political activist, fighting for civil
rights and Indian independence from the British

From
the year 1904 to 1914, she was active in the Phoenix Settlement near Durban,
South Africa

Kasturba
encouraged women volunteers to take part in the Indian freedom struggle and
even took Gandhi's position when he was in jail

She
was even arrested and sentenced to three months in jail for protesting against
working conditions for Indians in South Africa

In
1915, when Gandhi returned to India to support indigo planters, Kasturba
accompanied him. She taught hygiene, discipline, health, reading, and writing

In
January 1944, Kasturba suffered two heart attacks, after which she was confined
to her bed. She died on February 22, the same year.

Kasturba Gandhi, the larger than life shadow of Mahatma Gandhi

(April 11, 1869 - February 22, 1944)

Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi's evolution from a lawyer, to becoming the face of India's non-violent struggle for independence as the Mahatma has been written about at great length. In this journey of a man who is regarded as the father of the nation, an integral companion was his wife, Kasturba Gandhi.

Kasturba Gandhi's name is often lost in the face of Gandhi's leadership but she was his pillar of support, the first individual who was a part of him like none other. If he could convince her to give up her notions of caste and untouchability, he could convince others of the same. She was perhaps the only person who could disagree with him and point out to him his mistakes. She was his companion, his wife, his caretaker and later in life his representative too.

The exhibition-cum-sale of books on and by Mahatma Gandhi, organised recently by the Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal and Gandhi Book Centre, has received good response with books worth Rs 2.12 lakh having been sold between January 30 and February 4.

Financial assistance has been provided for the initiative by Babulnath Mandir Charities and Mahalaxmi Mandir Charities.

The exhibition-cum-sale received overwhelming response from the readers as the books worth about Rs 2.12 lakh were sold during the six days.

Books in four languages viz. English, Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati were sold at the exhibition. In the present world of modern technologies like iPhone, tabs and e-books, it is difficult to believe that many people are still interested in buying Gandhi books. The sale proves that Gandhiji's teachings are relevant than ever.